Assistant for the Alien Prince by Tammy Walsh

Jessica

The journeyback to the palace felt longer and more depressing than the journey up.

Every few minutes I glanced over at Zai but he remained staring out of the front windscreen, not even blinking.

He hugged his mother when we entered the palatial study.

We took a seat on either side of the sofas, heavy silence pressing in as the servant poured tea, placed it in front of us, and left.

Zai gave up all pretenses and lounged back on the sofa.

“What happened?”

The Queen stirred her tea with a small teaspoon and blew off the steam before taking a sip.

“The tribe leaders don’t believe you’re worthy to take the throne,” she said bluntly.

With just five days remaining until the Pairing Ceremony was due to take place, I supposed there was no time to beat about the bush.

Zai bolted to his feet and turned his back on us.

He braced himself on the mantelpiece over the dead fire.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “I thought if you were the Crown Prince it meant the throne is yours. It’s your birthright.”

“It is,” the Queen said patiently, “but that doesn’t mean it won’t harm his reputation. If the powerful tribes don’t respect him, what reason do the other, smaller tribes? They will be difficult to control. And if the roots of doubt sink too deeply, we might lose control of the kingdom entirely.”

“I see,” I said, unsure what else to say.

This was a world away from what I was used to.

Except… maybe it wasn’t.

Ruling over a successful business empire could be compared to controlling a miniature kingdom, couldn’t it?

You had the people—the employees—and you tried to do your best for them.

And if they didn’t respect you as these tribe leaders claimed?

A solution popped into my head and before I’d fully processed it, I blurted it out:

“Why not dance with the daughters of the smaller tribes?” I said. “Unite them under you and prove you’ll be a good ruler. Then the larger tribes will have no choice but to accept you.”

Zai still hadn’t turned around and continued to peer into the ashes in deep thought.

“Because no Ev’vat king has ever ascended to the throne without the support of the major tribes,” the Queen said. “If we can’t convince them that he’s a worthy leader now, it will be much more difficult to change their minds in future.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” I said.

The Queen’s eyes snapped up to me.

Where someone else might have tried to contain their anger, she released its full fury.

“How could it possibly be a good thing?” she growled. “This is his legacy! If the tribe leaders don’t support us, they could unite and form against us!”

I was offering ideas, potential solutions, and met her fiery gaze with ice.

“So maybe if they’re so quick to judge,” I said evenly, “so uneasy about Zai, he’s better off finding allies elsewhere.”

The Queen blinked at my outburst.

She smoothed an imaginary wrinkle in her skirt.

“You’re an alien here. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“I might be an alien,” I acknowledged, “but every creature in the galaxy feels the same emotions you do.”

The Queen bolted to her feet and jabbed a finger at me.

“Are you suggesting I don’t understand my people?” she snapped. “Just because you’re an alien does not give you the right to speak to me disrespectfully! I am the Queen and you will respect me while you’re here!”

I clenched my teeth, bit back my scathing response, and turned my head to one side.

“Yes… Your Majesty,” I managed, each word tasting like sour lemons.

That was when I noticed Zai’s shoes had turned away from the fireplace and faced our direction—my direction.

I looked up and found him peering down at me thoughtfully.

My cheeks flared red and I couldn’t meet his gaze.

“Sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have… spoken out. I should have just minded my business.”

“Yes,” the Queen said, folding her arms. “You should.”

I slowly got to my feet and kept my eyes on the floor.

“I’ll… leave you to discuss this issue in private.”

“You can’t go,” the Queen said, panic flashing across her features.

She turned to her son.

“She might… discuss our problem with others!”

She thought I might still be a spy, I realized.

Surely she must have known how unlikely that was?

I’d never met or spoken to an Ev’vat before I came here!

I felt Zai’s eyes pressed on me and he ran the situation through his mind.

“You may go.”

The Queen glared at me as if I had been the one to speak, but she remained silent as I hurried for the door.

I urged myself not to stop and turn and look back at them but couldn’t help it.

The Queen had already turned away and braced her hands on her hips to berate the prince.

But the prince…

He remained standing, his eyes fixed firmly on mine.

I hastily exited and bolted down the hallway.

I got halfway down it before realizing I was heading in the wrong direction.

The servants bowed respectfully, which only made me feel sick to my stomach.

I didn’t deserve their respect.

The stairs arched around in a half-spiral to the second floor.

It took a moment for me to get my bearings before I recalled which way I needed to go.

I was relieved to finally make it to my room and slammed the door shut behind me.

I threw myself onto the bed, pummeled the mattress with my fists, buried my face in a pillow, and screamed.

Why did I always have to get involved with everything?

I wasn’t a member of the royal family!

I didn’t even know much about Ev’vat culture!

All I’d done was make things worse!

Was Aunt Mary’s house worth all this? I thought idly. Was it worth going to all this trouble?

I should have kept my big trap shut!

I might have lost the best opportunity I had of paying off the family’s debts and earning enough to finally retire to the countryside.

And I’d blown it with one single stupid idea!

I rolled onto my back, my legs hanging over the side of the bed, and peered up at the ceiling.

The job wasn’t turning out to be as difficult as I’d imagined either.

Some of it was quite enjoyable.

Zai, though charming, wasn’t as overbearing as my father had been.

When we stopped off at the bar, we might have been old friends, and when we danced in the Temple of Onsheggas…

I was certain I wasn’t the only one who’d seen that sharp shard of light between us as we danced.

Shimmering and golden, it looked exactly like a…

Dare I even admit it to myself?

A supernova.

I shook my head.

Nah.

It was probably just a figment of my imagination, formed after Zai told me about what it was like for his parents when they felt that magical connection joining them.

I’d just imprinted myself into the same situation.

There had been no spark, I told myself. There simply couldn’t have been.

I was not a daughter of a powerful Ev’vat tribe leader.

I was just me.

An assistant there to do a job.

My communicator buzzed and I was relieved when I saw it was Tina.

I answered immediately.

“Hey.”

“That’s what I was going to say!” Tina said, giggling into the handset.

“You’re in a good mood,” I said suspiciously.

“Aren’t I always?”

Yes, and that was the problem.

It meant she was up to no good.

She giggled again and I cut her off.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“Why does something have to be wrong for me to call my dear sister?”

Dear sister?

“Okay, so now I know something’s wrong. What is it?”

“Honestly, nothing! Jees. You should give me a little credit! I’m a full-grown woman now. I know how to take care of myself.”

I rolled my eyes.

Sure she did.

She knew how to take care of herself so long as she was using someone else’s money to do it.

“Bumped into any famous celebrities recently?” I inquired.

“One or two. Although, I suppose ‘bumped into’ doesn’t quite describe it accurately…”

“You haven’t been stalking celebrities again!”

“Stalking? That’s an even worse way to describe it!”

“It’s perfect if it describes you creeping around your favorite celebrities’ neighborhoods and picking through their trash.”

“What’s the big deal? They threw it away!”

Just as they would throw you away if they knew you.

I pushed the issue aside, knowing there was little I could do about it from where I was now.

“Any word from the loan shark?” I asked.

“Nothing yet. How’s the job going?”

Yes, how was it going?

I might have lost it.

I might have guaranteed the loan shark would turn us into slaves until we paid the debt off.

Other than that, it was going peachy!

“Not bad,” I said, dourly.

“Oh no. I’ve heard that tone of voice before! What’s happened now? Did you sleep with him?”

I made a fart noise with my lips.

“I haven’t sunken to your level of depravity yet!”

“‘Yet?’ Oh, you’re totally showing your hand now, Sis!”

Flustered, I shook the phone, wrapping my hands around it as if I were wringing my sister’s neck.

“No, everything’s okay between us. The Prince and the Queen are having a bit of an issue at the moment.”

“What is it?”

Where did I even begin?

I decided it was safer not to begin.

“Forget I said anything. It’s something I shouldn’t discuss. Not over an open channel anyway.”

“Wow. It sounds like really exciting stuff over there! Are you sure you can’t share even a tiny little bit of it?”

A tiny little bit like there might be spies in the palace?

That the Prince and the Queen think I might be one of them!

That they couldn’t bring themselves to trust me?

I didn’t think so!

“Afraid not. I’ll tell you everything when I get home.”

Home.

Although I was staying in a palace, I couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else but home right then.

In Aunt Mary’s house.

By the sea and the endless beach.

I shut my eyes and let myself sink into it.

A knock came at the door, interrupting me from my mini-vacation.

“Somebody’s coming,” I said. “I have to go.”

“All right. Be careful. Remember, you’re not in Kansas anymore.”

She sure didn’t need to tell me that!

I approached the door, cracked it open, and peered out.

I was startled to see it was Zai and not a servant as I’d expected.

“I need to have a word,” he said. “May I come in?”

I let him in and shut the door behind him.

He glanced at the door, then moved away from it and lowered his voice.

“We came up with a plan.”

This was it, I thought. He’s going to drop me and I’ll have to return home.

I’ll have no money, no Aunt Mary’s house, and no way to pay back the loan shark.

“What is it?” I squeaked, bracing for the worst. “Is it the ceremony? Is it still going ahead? Are you canceling it?”

“Of course we’re not canceling it! That’s exactly what the tribe leaders would want. Besides, the kingdom’s already preparing their celebrations. No, the ceremony must go ahead.”

I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Great, but it’s not going to be much of a ceremony without guests.”

“They’ll come. All we need to do is convince the tribes I’m someone they can trust.”

His smile would normally have been infectious but I couldn’t bring myself to share it.

“You want to change their minds?” I said. “How?”

“We’re going to launch a PR campaign!”

I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.

“A PR campaign?”

“You were right earlier, in the study. A bit direct perhaps, but your theory is sound. The tribe leaders’ opinion of me has never been what matters most. My father knew that.”

“Then what is most important?”

“The people’s opinion. If they believe I’m worthy to be their king, the tribe leaders will fall out of favor if they don’t support me. I need a campaign—a charm offensive—to convince the people I really have changed and I am worthy of being their ruler.”

He delivered it as if it was the greatest plan known in existence.

But there was a small flaw he hadn’t noticed:

“We’ve only got five days.”

“Greater things have been achieved in less time,” he said.

I was tempted to ask him for an example but he hurried on:

“I’ll do a bunch of events and invite all the press. If I can connect with the people, if they like the real me, the tribe leaders will have no choice but to accept me. I’ve been gone four years. It’s about time they learned what I got up to.”

He seemed genuinely excited about the proposition.

“In order to do that, I’m going to need your help. More specifically, your ability to help organize these events. Make sure they get as much attention as possible, so much the tribe leaders can’t ignore it.”

“But I don’t know any of the press people here!”

“We have a press office at the palace. You’ll be in charge of the day-to-day running of the events. Nothing overly strenuous. After all, you have to focus on the ceremony.”

Sure, I thought. I could do that.

At least, I hoped I could.

And with his charming and effortless smile beaming down at me, how could I refuse?